Crazy For You by Alexander, S.B. (best ebook reader ubuntu .TXT) 📕

“We have the house all to ourselves. My dad is gone until tomorrow,” Grady said, looking at Colton as though he dared him to agree to dinner.

Colton waved him off. “It’s time I head home and face the music.”

I let out a quiet sigh. I didn’t want to watch Grady and Mia suck face all night. On the other hand, anxiety settled in my bones, hoping Colton didn’t take another beating from his dad. Maybe he didn’t have to go home just yet.

“Want to have dinner at my house?” I asked Colton. “Afterwards, you can change the oil in my car like you promised.”

He gave me the sweetest look. “Sounds like a plan.”

A swarm of butterflies went wild in my stomach. I wanted to say really or seriously or something shockingly idiotic, but I kept my lips glued together, feeling like I’d just won the boyfriend lottery.

Georgia’s eyes got bigger the longer she stood there. “Well, my work is done. Now I can enjoy my night with my mom.”

Colton actually laughed, a sound that sent yummy shivers tiptoeing down my spine.

Mia, Georgia, and I collected our things while Colton and Grady chatted about something I couldn’t hear. Grady was probably thanking him for getting the quiet message about not agreeing to dinner.

I slipped on my shorts, checked to make sure I had my phone, and swung my bag onto my shoulder.

I was ready to slip my sandals on when Colton grabbed my hand. “Wait for a minute.”

Georgia and Mia waggled their brows as they said their goodbyes.

Grady said to Colton, “Good luck, man. If you need anything, call.”

Colton nodded at his friend. “I’ll be in to get my stuff in a few.” Then he flicked his thumb toward the ocean. “Want to take a walk?”

I stuffed my sandals in my bag. “Sure.” I will go anywhere with you.

We headed down the beach, silence following us except for the sound of the waves crashing along the shore and the seagulls cawing above. Yet the farther we walked, the more the silence ate at me. I stole a look at him, and he was chewing on the inside of his cheek as if trying to find something to say.

Maybe he wanted to take back what he’d said about me being beautiful. Maybe he wanted to let me down easy.

Shut up, Skyler. Stop psychoanalyzing everything.

A giggle escaped my lips.

Colton whipped his dreamy gaze at me. “What’s so funny?”

To tell the truth or not? I went with the truth. “Did you mean what you said about me being beautiful?”

His lips curved upward slightly on the edges. “You are the prettiest girl I’ve ever met.”

I reared back. “Not Amanda Gelling?” For real, she was beautiful.

“Not Amanda Gelling,” he parroted. “Skyler, beauty is the whole package, not just looks. Besides, I find short hair sexy as hell. My friends at the academy always ribbed me when I dated a girl with hair shorter than mine.”

Warmth radiated throughout my body as desire pooled between my thighs. Colton did like me. He found me sexy. Best day ever.

“I’m sorry you had to witness the fight with my old man last night.”

It seemed so long ago. “No need for an apology. Families fight.” Although I’d never seen a parent flat out punch his kid like Mr. Caldwell had.

Before my brain caught up with my actions, I grabbed Colton’s hand, praying he didn’t pull away or run like he had at the cemetery.

One or five minutes passed, I didn’t know for sure, but when we reached a barrier of rocks, indicating the end of the line, Colton’s hand was still tethered to mine.

He guided us up along the rocks toward the last house standing. It appeared empty with a “for rent” sign tacked to the deck.

Before my thoughts could take a trip down memory lane, Colton stopped and gave me the most loving look.

I swallowed one gasp, and then another when he grabbed my chin gently and tenderly, eyeing my mouth as though it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

Whoa! If he kissed me, I was sure to self-combust.

The more he studied me, the more the air around us seemed to flare as though we were in our own little bubble. That blank mask he’d always worn was nonexistent. In its place were emotions galore, but one that stood out like a shining beacon on a dark night was lust.

His big brown orbs darted back and forth, and the longer we stood alone at the end of where the sand met rock, where my heart was blasting off into outer space, and where my legs were becoming weaker by the second, the more this guy was stealing a part of my soul.

I flattened my hands on his chest to stabilize myself in the event my knees gave out.

When I did, he briefly closed his eyes and shivered. “I can’t do this anymore, Skyler.” His words were a whisper on the wind.

I licked my dry lips. “Do what?”

It was crystal clear we were attracted to each other, that he was straining against his resolve not to take me right there.

He leaned down, snaked his arm around my waist, holding me like I was his lifeline, and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m a fucking mess.”

“We all are.” Because as humans, we were. Not all the time, but we each had struggles and problems and regrets.

“Not like me,” he said.

My chest rose as high as the swell of a large wave. Words were on the tip of my tongue, but I was afraid to say something stupid.

He traced circles on my bare lower back. I’d left my tank top off like I usually did when leaving the beach. “I want to kiss you. I want to do things to you and with you that I’ve been dreaming about ever since I saw you at the Latte House.”

A heady feeling coursed through me, giving me the courage to say, “Then what are you waiting